Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

Subsidised and shared ownership schemes

If you do not earn enough to buy a property on the open market you may be able to part-buy a property under a shared ownership scheme.

You need to be earning a regular income in order to be considered for shared ownership. This is because you have to be able to meet your monthly mortgage repayments.

As a guide, applicants for shared ownership in the Vale of White Horse will usually only be considered if your gross earnings are at least £20,000 if you are applying as an individual or total £25,000 if you are applying as a couple.

Occasionally the levels may be lower. If this is the case, it will be indicated in the property details when it is advertised on the Council’s Choice Based Lettings website.

It is sometimes possible to qualify for shared ownership even if you do not have a regular earned income, but have substantial savings which can be used to buy a share of a property. An example of someone who could do this may be someone who is splitting up with a partner, selling their existing property and is due to receive substantial equity from this sale.

There are currently two types of shared ownership schemes operating in the Vale of White Horse.

Open Market Homebuy Scheme

This scheme is operated by Catalyst Housing Group. It is a Government-funded scheme which offers a loan of up to 50 per cent of the purchase price. There is no rent to pay on the other part of your home although there is a small charge for the loan.

To qualify:

• You must find a property on the open market.
• A mortgage of at least 50 per cent of the purchase price must be available to you.
• You must be on the Council's Housing Register and be unable to afford to purchase on the open market. Although this scheme is open to all bands of the Housing Register, priority will be given to Council and Housing Association tenants and those on the higher bands.
• You must also have a local connection with this district.

Once registered on the Housing Register applicants should contact Catalyst Housing Group on 0845 6017729.

Leaflets and application packs are available by getting in touch with the Housing Advice Team - for contact details see How to contact the Housing Advice Team.

Shared Ownership (now known as Newbuild HomeBuy)

Many new housing developments in the Vale of White Horse must contain an element of affordable housing, some of which maybe for shared ownership through the Newbuild HomeBuy scheme.

All general shared ownership properties will be advertised on our Choice Based Lettings website and in the property newsletter.

You must be on the Council’s Housing Register, and, although priority will be given to housing association tenants and also to applicants in the higher bands of the Housing Register and on the list for the longest period of time, you may be eligible for Newbuild HomeBuy if you are in any other band as well. For information about how to join the register please see How to join the Housing Register.

Please note that individual schemes may vary with the Housing Association responsible for its development therefore the amount of income and mortgage required may vary.